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Six players have broken ranks after the Professional Football Association announced the Matildas’ two-match tour of the United States would be scrapped.
The PFA said on Wednesday the tour would not go ahead due to an ongoing pay dispute with Football Federation Australia.
But six players, including captain Lisa De Vanna, subsequently committed to fly to the US on Friday ahead of next week’s tour.
“I just want to play for my country. It’s all I want to do,” De Vanna, 30, told Newscorp Australia.
“If my coach calls me and asks me to play I will always make myself available.
“At my age I am not sure if the opportunity to play the world champions will come up again.”
Coach Alen Stajcic spent Wednesday night ringing his players to see if they would still be willing to take their place if selected, according to the report.
It’s also understood De Vanna directly sought and was given assurances from FFA boss David Gallop that the tour and team would be fully backed by head office.
The PFA announced the cancellation of two games with the women’s World Cup champions late on Wednesday afternoon after a deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement passed.
The tour’s axing came a day after the players refused to show up at a Sydney practice session.
FFA chief executive David Gallop has accused Professional Footballers Australia of using the Matildas as a bargaining chip in its ongoing pay dispute that has forced the cancellation of their tour to the United States.
Gallop met with PFA chief executive Adam Vivien on Thursday in an attempt to salvage the Matildas’ two-game tour of the US, however talks once again broke down due to what he described as “preposterous” demands in the new collective bargaining agreement.
“What happened today was quite extraordinary because effectively we’ve been told that unless we meet a wage claim for some $120 million dollars – the bulk of which will go to male professional players in the next four year period – then the Matildas would not be participating against the USA,” he said.
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